Josh Wiitanen is the $10K Denver champion! In a Top 8 dominated by Checkmate / Villains United, Josh fought his way through three straight mirror matches to claim his second $10K championship and his ninth $10K Top 8 finish. Mentioning yesterday that he needed to make Top 4 in order to pay for a trip to the dentist, he now has the money he needed and then some. Josh also boasted that if he won this event, he would be starting out on a road trip to Columbus, OH next weekend, looking to take on the competition at the Silver Age $10K being held there. In a mere six days, we’ll all be able to see if he makes good on that promise.

Defeated in the finals was Alex Smith, Wiitanen’s friend, teammate, and a Denver native. He put up a strong finish this weekend, but still didn’t manage to end his lifetime losing streak in the feature match area. His overall record in covered matches is 0-7—he has yet to win a match with a writer sitting over his shoulder, but make no mistake, the man always brings his A-game. Unless there’s a writer sitting next to you at a future event when you sit down across from Mr. Smith, be prepared for a tough game.

The format this weekend was one in which Checkmate / Villains United proved that it deserved to be called the king of the hill, and while two other decks snuck into the Top 8, they were both eliminated before the semifinals. This was the last DC Modern Age Premier event, but will the deck translate its dominance to Silver Age for next week’s $10K Columbus or Golden Age for the upcoming Pro Circuit So Cal? Only time will tell, but if anything is for certain, it’s that [Ahmed Samsarra] is a force to be reckoned with. Something that Josh Wiitanen can undoubtedly attest to as he clutches his newest addition to his trophy collection. Congratulations, Josh!